OHS, Data QC of Vehicle Attributes Using VIN

Abstract Data QC of Vehicle Attributes Using VIN PI: Tony Fields 10/1/2025 - 9/30/2026 Traffic safety efforts to prevent and reduce the severity of crashes rely on accurate reporting of crash attributes. The model minimum uniform crash criteria (MMUCC) provides a standardized set of data variables to describe motor vehicle traffic crashes to identify traffic safety problems and design countermeasures to improve safety. Among the vehicle-level variables collected are VIN; unit type; vehicle make, model and year; body type and cargo body type; gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR); vehicle special use code; and trailer VIN and body type. Most of these variables are currently collected in Kentucky crash reports by the reporting officer. As prior and ongoing research shows variation in the quality of vehicle data in the crash dataset, a full assessment of the quality and reliability of these data fields is needed. A review of crash records for the last 10 years shows that more than 99% of vehicle records have a full 17-character VIN. Improvements in the quality of Kentucky’s stored vehicle-level crash data elements, made through comparison to those of vehicle manufacturer data linked to crash records by VIN will allow practitioners to make more informed safety decisions. To expand the capabilities of practitioners who use vehicle-level crash data to make safety improvements To supplement statewide vehicle-level crash data by completing missing fields and providing corrected information where errors are found To create a methodology to decode and link VIN-based vehicle data to the statewide crash dataset on an annual basis To assess the current crash database and identify patterns of error including those correlated with errors in other parts of the crash database To maintain a secure, linked database available for use by safety practitioners